Change of Heart
by JaidedVanillaXoXo
Summary: Kaleigh and Bernard have always hated each other. When their real feelings for one another are revealed, how long will it take for them to notice? Can they love each other after years of constant hate? BernardxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Santa Clause, I wished I owned Bernard (my sexy little head-elf), and I own both Kaleigh and the plot to this story.**

**This is my first Santa Clause fanfic, so I really hope I did these poor characters justice. The next chapter will be from Kaleigh's or Bernard's point of veiw but since this is the prologue, it's in third person. It just gives you a little insight into their relationship.**

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Prologue

3rd Person POV

"I can't believe you, you-"

"Me? You're the one who is a-"

"pig-headed-"

"completely muddle-brained-"

"arrogant-"

"disorganized-"

"conceited-"

"deranged-"

"overbearing-"

"lazy-"

"egotistical-"

"indolent-"

"control-freak!"

"procrastinator!"

"Oh was that supposed to be an insult?"

"Yes! Yours were practically compliments!"

"I don't think pig-headed is a compliment, _Bernard_!" She spat his name out, slipping from her mouth like acid. It was so strange to hear such hatred in the voice of an elf. Even Bernard sounded strange when fighting with her.

Curtis just sighed. Bernard and Kaleigh were fighting… again. It wasn't a new thing for them. It had all but become the elves twelve o' clock afternoon ritual. There was such strong tension between them; it was almost comical… almost.

"You are so aggravating!"

"Me? At least I work for a living!"

"What do you call work? Huh? Ordering others around?"

"There's more to being head-elf than what _you_ think, _Kaleigh_."

"Oh, so I'm the only one you bother ordering around?"

"I never said that!"

"It was implied!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was-"

"That is enough!" Curtis shouted. "You two fight nearly every day. How do you live in the same house without _killing_ each other?" Kaleigh looked to Bernard, whose dark eyes met hers.

"We don't talk outside of the factory," Kaleigh admitted. "It's kind of… unavoidable here." Curtis was beyond annoyed, as was almost every other elf in the factory. "Sorry for bothering you today, Curtis."

"So now you're polite?" Bernard snapped. "Why can't you do that on a regular basis?"

"Oh, shut up Bernard. Stop denying the fact that you're just arguing to cover up the sexual attraction you have to me." Bernard's face flushed a million shades of red, each one darker than the last. Curtis struggled to muffle the laughing that was begging to explode from his mouth. Bernard glared at him.

In a way, Curtis admired Kaleigh. She was the only one who even tried to stand up to Bernard. Her sarcastic, questioning attitude clashed with his controlling one, making them hard to live with. The two of them alone shared a house in the North Pole, due to the fact that it was crowded there, most homes housing 4-5 elves.

Kaleigh didn't do much around the North Pole. She was good with numbers and used to help Bernard keep track of all the toys made and keeping the elves production schedule on track. Out of nowhere, Bernard flipped out on her, criticizing her and blaming her for the slow production schedule that year. Kaleigh stopped helping Bernard and instead began working on engineering things for Santa. Her new job kept her a lot less occupied than her old one, giving Bernard the impression that she was a lazy elf who did nothing. From then on, the two of them fought like there was no tomorrow.

As of right now, she was working on improvements on Santa's sleigh, making the ride both easier on the reindeer and more efficient. Anyone who wasn't Bernard, could easily tell she had been working by the black smudges that covered her pretty face and the stray hairs that had escaped her ponytail.

None of the elves denied that Kaleigh was rather attractive. Unlike many of the other elves, she had an exotic beauty about her that made most people forget her sarcastic attitude and almost instantly love her. She had long, curly, dark hair that fell to about her waist. She usually kept it pulled back and wore headbands or beanies, so it wouldn't get in the way of her work. Her dark hair was balanced by dark skin and brown eyes so dark, they would be mistaken for black. Her eyes, dark as they were, sparkled like snow in the sunlight. She was petite, small even for an elf.

"Well, Bernard, I'm going back to _our_ house. See you there… or not, I prefer," Kaleigh said as she turned and walked away.

"Gosh darnet, Bernard. Can't you do anything right?" Curtis questioned. He saw Kaleigh's humor, her beauty, her funny quirks that made her likeable, but would never understand why Bernard didn't see them too.

"I don't know what you are talking about Curtis. She's a disgrace to elves everywhere." Curtis just sighed and walked away. Bernard looked around, wondering how much attention he and Kaleigh had called to themselves. He saw some elves still stunned from the exchange while others were working diligently on their toys, not wanting an already angry Bernard to have any reason to yell at them for lack of production.

"Curtis, wait up!" He called. Curtis turned around. "For now, you can oversee everything. I need to go uhh… think."

"Yeah sure," Curtis replied, with an unimportant wave of his hand. "Go do whatever you got to do." Bernard nodded once in thanks, and proceeded to go outside into the lightly falling snow, in hopes that the cold fresh air might clear the scattered thoughts from his head.

He knew that apologizing to Kaleigh was the _right_ thing to do, but the child in him was taking over, telling him that revenge, not apology, was what he really wanted.

"I need to apologize," he told himself reluctantly, but his body was screaming not to. "I need to do _something_." That was better. Revenge was certainly _something_. He walked quickly to their house, where he quietly entered. The door was unlocked, as it usually was when one of the two of them was home.

He walked in as silently as he could, listening for Kaleigh to be doing something. His quiet footsteps sounded like thunder in his head and he sauntered to her room. Her door was only slightly ajar, but even the little crack allowed him to see and hear what she was doing.

Her small from was sprawled across her bed, holding a throw pillow tightly against her chest. She was sobbing, and in her attempt to be quiet, her lip quivered and eyes slowly leaked sparkling tears.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, biting into her pillow to muffle any noise she would have made. "I'm sorry." She kept repeating the two words, over and over, and Bernard couldn't seem to understand why. Her body was shaking, convulsing as she sobbed the words one more time. Then her body went still, her eyes peacefully shut.

For the first time, Bernard felt like an intruder in a moment to private for him to handle. He entered to room anyway. He sat next to the sleeping Kaleigh and gently removed her shoes, jewelry, and hat. He pulled the many pins from her complicated hair and smoothed it down with his fingertips, while his free hand reached for a blanket to spread over her. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to cover her body. Her smooth curves were covered by a fitting v-neck sweater and a loose skirt with leggings. Not wanting to look at her and confuse himself more, he spread the blanket over her and left as quickly as possible.

He still hated her, and wasn't sure why he did what he had just done. He exited the room quickly and stealthily, the mystery that was Kaleigh still baffling him.

Kaleigh was different than many other elves, probably why she bothered him so. She did things that others didn't dare do, or at least to Bernard. She treated him as if he were just another elf on the street, not the arch-elf he was. He pulled his slouchy hat of his small curls and set it on the table next to him, needing to think.

His head fell into his hands as he closed his eyes and sighed. He hated Kaleigh, right? Yes, he hated her. She was a no good lazy, good-for-nothing elf who disrespected him daily and hated him almost as much as he hated her. His thoughts were settled… for now.

"You kill me Kaleigh!" he whispered angrily to anyone listening. He hoped that she hadn't woken up yet, and prayed that she wouldn't while he was still hanging around the house.

Quickly, he made himself a hot chocolate and downed it as fast as he could. Re-energized for the rest of the day, he left the house, not trusting himself to be there with Kaleigh anymore.

xxx

Kaleigh woke up in a little bit of a daze. She was hugging a soft, red blanket to herself but couldn't ever remember going to sleep with it. She remembered a few things. Crying… yes, there was crying. Apologize? To someone? No. She never apologized to anyone. Her motto was not to live life in regret of the things you do, because if you did you aren't really living. She looked down at her shirt. From the way it hung on her she could tell that it had been rather wet from her tears but had dried while she was asleep.

She shrugged, ignoring the few facts that didn't quite add up in her head. She was confused as it was, and the few things she didn't know would probably come to her later in the day. She didn't plan on doing much else that day, since she'd finished all her alterations on Santa's sleigh earlier.

Her eyes flashed quickly over to the clock next to her bead to catch the time; 5:45. She'd slept nearly 6 hours. Groaning, she pulled herself up from the bed and dragged herself to the kitchen. Her hands pulled random things out of their nearly bare fridge. There was alfredo sauce, pesto, chicken, onions, pasta noodles, garlic, and red peppers. She threw the noodles in a pot to boil and used the other ingredients to make a sauce for them. When it was done, she prepared two plates, one for herself and one for Bernard. She wasn't going to apologize but the least she could do was make her roommate dinner.

After she had finished eating, she heard their door close. It sounded too quiet, like it as trying not to be heard.

"Hey, Bernard."

"Oh, I thought you were sleeping." He looked at the food set out on the plate. Obviously for him, because Kaleigh was just finishing hers. "What's this?" he asked, rather surprised by Kaleigh's sudden kindness.

"Umm… dinner? Don't expect this all the time, I just thought you might be hungry after work."

"So you admit that I do, in fact, work?"

"I'm too tired for this right now, just eat your damned food. I'm going back to bed." And Kaleigh walked out of the room, leaving a stunned Bernard behind her. He had never been so confused in his life.

She never even mentioned the blanket. He'd finally done one thing, just one, to show that he cared for her, and she didn't even mention it.

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**Okay, so they do care for each other but disguise it pretty well with hatred. They aren't exactly fully conscious of the fact either, which is why they are both oh-so-confused.**

**So did you love it? Hate it? Need to read a little more to find out?**

**Then hit that pretty little button and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bernard (as much as I want to) or The Santa Clause, but I do own Kaleigh and the plot to this story.**

**Wow! I can't believe that I got SIX reviews on the first chapter. Honestly, I wasn't expecting any.**

**Anyway, here's the first chapter from Kaleigh's point of view. I might change it later to Bernard's but let's see where this goes first…**

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**KPOV**

I finished the last few adjustments, tightening loose screws and such, on Santa's sleigh and pulled myself out from underneath the star piece of machinery I had the privilege to work on. Nodding to myself, I turned away from the sleigh and wiped my hands, stained black from a day's work, on my jeans leaving dark smudges down the length of my thighs. Looking in the back pocket of my jeans, I noticed the gloves I had forgotten to put on. Laughing quietly, I shrugged, that's why we wash our clothes, they're meant to get dirty. The back of my hand flew up to my forehead to wipe away any sweat. It got terribly hot in here sometimes.

I unbuckled my belt from around my waist, filled with my tools and cast it aside for tomorrow. I wasn't sure how many more adjustments I could possibly make on this sleigh until it was perfectly perfect. I did recall a few elves telling me that I had the potential to train for E.L.F.S. but to me, it just didn't seem like something I would love. I loved being a mechanic, an engineer. It was what I was meant to do.

Catching my reflection in a mirror on the wall, I realized just how dirty I'd gotten. Dark smudges covered my rosy cheeks and forehead and a small smudge rested comically on the tip of my nose. I walked over to the looking glass and, using only my fingertips so I didn't get anything into my hair, attempted to fix the stray pieces of hair that had escaped from my loose braids. Upon deciding that my hair would not cooperate with me, I yanked the hair tie from my head and let my soft, long hair fall around me in gentle waves of brown. I didn't let my hair down often, so it felt strange to have so much of it, falling gently around me. Sighing in contentment, I pulled my slouchy beanie, discarded earlier on a shelf with my other belongings I didn't want to accidentally break while I worked, over my head.

Before I left, I made sure to grab the screwdriver I'd broken earlier to get it either fixed or replaced.

As I walked, I hummed to myself, smiling as made my way around the factory. I passed several elves I didn't know and a few that I did. Judy, carrying a tray of freshly baked cookies, made sure I didn't pass her by empty-handed. In my left hand I held the broken screwdriver and in my right, I held a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, courtesy of Judy. Elves waved happily to me from where they were working, grinning widely back at me as I walked by.

I wasn't quite sure why, but I was happy today, happier than I'd ever been before. Maybe it was the cookie.

"Kaleigh!" I turned as I heard my name shouted, seeing Abby running toward me at full speed. She was waving her hands frantically, like she needed something.

"Abby?" I asked. "Is everything alright?" She shook her head violently.

"No! The three-dimensional design computer in the Blueprints room isn't working. Well, it was but someone tried to do something on it, God knows what it was, and it started smoking!" I chuckled to myself.

"Calm down Abby! It probably just overheated and needs to cool down. It takes a lot of abuse at this time of the year. I'll take a look at it though. I'm sure I can fix it." She smiled.

"Thanks Kai. I don't know how we would even function around here without you." I smiled s very small smirk, almost untraceable, unless you had been looking for it. _Take that Bernard_.

I put my broken tool in my empty back pocket and followed Abby to the Blueprints room, where children's requests on their Christmas lists were designed, where a small group of elves had huddled around a very modern-looking computer. Santa was there too, examining to smoking piece of machinery.

"Guys!" Abby shouted. "It's ok. I brought Kaleigh!" I suppose I was kind of the North Pole mechanic, if that's what you want to call it. It was more like an engineer. I designed and fixed almost everything in the North Pole that kept it running as smoothly, and efficiently, as it did. The elves all smiled and cheered as they backed away from the computer. I loved it. I felt like I was… important and wanted when they did that.

The monitor of the instrument was blue and the screen shaking violently as though the computer was on a moving truck. I placed the palm of my hand slowly and carefully on the back of the monitor and my other hand on the top of the hard drive, lowering my head to hear the noises the computer was making. I jerked my hand back from the computer; it was scorching hot, making a screeching sound that almost hurt my ear. I could feel the monitor humming, a very light vibrating feeling, beneath my touch in a way that was almost soothing.

I stood back up to my full height and leaned over the computer to check where the cords were plugged in. A few pieces of plastic were sticking out from their normal spots, and that was fixed easily by pushing them back into place. One, a dark blue chord, had become unplugged while another, black, had small wires sticking out from a tear on the rubber. I plugged the blue cord into the back of the monitor where the hole surrounding it matched it in color. The screen stopped shaking and shut itself off. Someone behind me let out a deep sigh of disappointment. I pressed the blinking button turning off the computer so it could cool down.

"Are there any spare cords here? I'm looking for a black chord. It should be pretty thick…" I did know the computer geek terminology for all the words I was using but I was pretty sure that if I used them here I would be looked at very strangely.

"This one?" A petite, blonde elf held up a think chord with a very thick plug. I smiled to myself. That was the one. I nodded to her and took the black cord from her hand, setting it beside me. I pulled my gloves from my back pocket, rarely ever used, and put them on my hands not wanting to get myself electrocuted. I carefully pulled the torn cord from its socket and replaced it with the new one.

"Give that a few minutes to cool down," I told them. "Then, it should work perfectly. I think the broken chord caused it to short-circuit. I'll wait here until it's running again." I pulled my gloves off and placed them back in my back pocket as I pulled out my screwdriver so I didn't forget. I sat in the corner of the room, watching the other elves disperse. Santa walked over to me, a certain elf I despised at his side, and patted me on the shoulder.

"Good work Kaleigh." Bernard grumbled something as well, but the words were too inaudible and strung together for me to catch.

"Thanks." I flashed my smile at both of them, disarming Bernard momentarily. I don't think he'd ever seen me smile, full on smile, at him, so he was probably only, for a moment, surprised. I always got compliments on my smile, how straight and white my teeth were, how the corners of my lips pulled up perfectly on the sides… But to me, my smile was just that. It was just my smile.

"Anything else you need Santa?" He shook his head.

"What's that?" Santa asked me, pointing to the screwdriver that sat in my lap.

"Oh, it's just a broken tool of mine. I was going to get it fixed and get a replacement in case it happened again, because if it happens a second time it's obviously not a reliable tool, but anyway, I had to come here."

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "I'll get you a new one Kai, it'll be state of the art, I'll make sure." I smiled widely.

"Really?" He nodded. "Oh, thanks so much! That would be great."

"You welcome." He took my offending tool with him as he walked off.

I crossed my legs, not really caring that the smudges on the front of my jeans were now transferring to the back as well, and placed my elbow on my knee, my head in my hand to wait. A small elf approached the computer and pressed the power button cautiously and watched in amazement as it turned on just as it had before.

"Wow! Thanks Kaleigh!" Smiling at his gratitude, I nodded in response and got up. I didn't really have anything to do now that my work was done. I could walk around and possibly be attacked by Bernard, but I wasn't really in the mood for that.

I left the factory and just walked around in the gentle falling snow. I spread my arms out, twirling and feeling like, in that moment, I could fly. Everything was perfect.

"Kaleigh." I looked around, seeing Bernard standing a mere few feet away from me.

"Bernard," I greeted him tersely. "What do you want?" He cleared his throat.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that I take back what I said about you not doing anything. Today was proof of that." He paused. "I'm…" Another pause but longer this time. "I'm sorry." I almost started laughing.

"No sarcastic remark?" I questioned.

"It was coming but I decided to be polite for once. Well, at least to you." I smiled.

"Well, thanks then." He smiled too.

"Well, I uhh…"

"Have to get back to work. Don't worry, I get it." His smile faded a bit.

"So yeah… I guess I'll see you at… you know, the house."

"Are you going to want dinner?"

"Sure, if you have time to make it. I'm fine with whatever." With his last few words of thanks, he turned and began to walk away without another word. I watched him leave, wondering what the hell was going on with him and what in God's name was going on with me? If something was wrong with both of us how did it affect _us_?

Whether it was us as people...

Or us as... friends maybe...

Something was off and I was going to find out.

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**Okay, so it was a little different than my last chapter but I thought it was alright. This chapter was more of a filler than anything else just giving you a little insight into Kaleigh's perspective on things as well as her personality, feelings, and job, in case any of you were wondering.**

**Here's a few questions for you I would really like you all to answer...**

**1. Would you like the next chapter from Bernard's POV?**

**2. What was your favorite line in this chapter?**

**3. Do you have any ideas you would like to see incorporated into the plot of this story? If so, what are they?**

**THANKS!!**

**So... I hope you liked it and it would mean the WORLD to me if you pretty, pretty, pretty, please REVIEW!!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Santa Clause.**

I apologize for the delay. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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_Don't wish, don't start. Wishing only wounds the heart._

-I'm Not That Girl, Wicked

I played this song today on my Ipod and it made me cry. It's from the Broadway musical, Wicked, and it's a pretty song. This chapter is roughly based on this line.

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**Kaleigh POV**

Bernard was taking a long time coming home today. With Christmas getting closer, I was well aware that he'd be busier, but anything past eight was simply ridiculous. It was seven fifty six. I was sitting on our soft, red couch, which was a bit small so even I had to curl up my legs to fit on it. It was worn in from endless years of abuse. Even after scolding my mind and telling myself not too, I still found my eyes wandering to the door, where Bernard should be walking in… but he wasn't.

Angry and impulsive, I got up and dumped the food I'd worked hard on down the kitchen sink drain and turned on the garbage disposal. That'll teach him. I never really felt guilt like any normal Christmas elf would. I wasn't the cheery, happy elf that everyone expected and I certainly never acted in a way anyone would expect me to act. I was the girl who never turned down a dare; the girl who, if someone expected to do so, would do exactly the opposite. I didn't like being predictable. Everyone knew that as well as the now knew never to expect that I wouldn't so something. No one placed bets on me anymore.

"_Twenty says Kaleigh won't do it. She may be the one who will do anything, but certainly not _this_." A mischevious elf, who went by the name of Gregory, whispered to a much younger looking Bernard and Curtis. Gregory was tall, muscular and sort of scary looking for an elf. He stood at a height of six foot, towering a foot over Kaleigh and about four inches above Curtis and Bernard._

"_I don't know…" Bernard replied skeptically. "I think she'd do anything."_

"_Anything? That's a big word, Bernard. You live with her don't you?" Curtis responded. They all spoke in hushed tones._

"_Yeah, she doesn't say much. Likes to keep to herself."_

"_Kaleigh!" Gregory shouted, standing up. "Get over here." Kaleigh glared at him as her small form moved almost to gracefully toward them. She cocked her hip to the side and placed her hand on it, looking up at Gregory icily. Small elf, big attitude._

"_What?" She snapped. "If you're going to order me around, you better have a pretty damn good reason for it, _Gregory_."_

"_Aww… come on, sugar. Don't be like that." If anything, Gregory had just dug himself into a much deeper hole. "Can you hold your liquor well, girl?"_

"_Hmm… I don't know. Can you speak easily with that big ass foot in your mouth?" Bernard and Curtis snickered._

"_I'm serious."_

"_So am I." Gregory just looked at her, and the small elf sighed and reluctantly nodded. "What's the dare? How much hard apple cider can I drink until I pass out?" She was sarcastic, but Gregory simply smiled._

"_You hit it right on, babe." He slid his glass over to her. "You up for it?" Kaleigh didn't respond. She took the glass in both of her hands and downed it more quickly than should have been humanely possible._

"_I didn't grow up here. I have much more tolerance to alcohol than you North Pole-born elves do. Hit me." The three of them watched as she downed six or seven more drinks. They would see her eyes rolling and her head spinning. Even Gregory knew that he had pushed her too far. He could only hold three before he threw up. Kai had just had eight and her head had only just started to spin._

"_Wait, Kai, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. Stop, before this really gets dangerous."_

"_Sorry, _honey_. I made a bet, and I'm keeping it." She wasn't even slurring her words yet. This was unnatural, not to mention completely dangerous. As Kaleigh had another two drinks, Bernard pushed his way out from Gregory and pulled Kai from where she sat at the bar._

"_You're done Kaleigh." She pouted and widened her eyes like a sad puppy at Bernard. "You're done," he repeated, picking her up. She was surprisingly light but still a struggle for an elf of Bernard's size to carry._

"_Curtis," he said roughly with the little breath he had, nodding his head toward the belongings that sat on the bar. He was using most of his energy to carry the little girl. Curtis got up and picked up Bernard's things, nodded to Gregory, and followed Bernard out of the bar._

"_Aww… come on Bernard. I'm not even the slightest bit tipsy yet."_

"_Yeah, sotally tober."_

"_I think you, my friend, are the one who's had a little too much to drink." She giggled. "Bernard, can you please get your hand off my butt?" Bernard felt his face warm. He hadn't even realized that his hand had slid there, he was just trying to carry her more easily._

"_Yeah, sorry," he mumbled._

"_It's alright. Just ask next time, ok?" Curtis burst out laughing as Bernard turned an even darker shade of red._

"_Yep, she's definitely over the edge," Curtis managed to say between strangled hysterics._

"_Yeah, no shocker there. She had, what, ten drinks?"_

"_I'd say eleven. But who's counting?"_

"_I am!" Kaleigh shouted._

I laughed. I remembered the next day's hangover all too well. I could never remember all the details of that night, but whatever I had said made the chemistry between Bernard and me very awkward from that point on. It was only a few weeks later that Bernard had snapped on me. I remembered every detail of that day.

"_Kaleigh! You are a lazy elf who only looks after herself! I can't believe Santa even lets you work here! You're a disgrace! You get drunk just because someone dares you to and you decide it's 'alright' to skip work once in a while because it keeps you 'sane.' Has anyone told you lately that you are already the furthest thing from sane? You're _in_sane! No one in their right mind does things they don't want to because of what other people think of them! Get out of here! This is my job! Go find your own. You're the reason we're a month behind schedule!"_

_Sparkling tears were welling up in the small elf's eyes. She wiped them away with the side of her hand, leaving a streak of black from her mascara._

"_I-I'm s-sorry, Bernard," she choked out. "I was just trying to help, I thought things were going more smoothly…"_

"_Even though you should be sorry, that doesn't cut it! Stop trying to help! You're making things worse. You might have _thought_ everything was all right, but you are beyond wrong. Unless you can find away to get us back on schedule, I will see to it that the North Pole no longer becomes your home." His last words made the tears pooled in her eyes finally fall. She ran from the factory, into the falling snow, protected only by a thin shirt. Bernard had followed her outside._

"_I'm sorry, Kai. That was uncalled for. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have said it…"_

"_Kaleigh to you. Only friends can call me Kai. And no matter what you say now, you can't take back what you said! And I will find a way to fix this, my fault or not. I'll prove to you how valuable I am. From now on, I really hate you Bernard. You can never take back those words you just said. They'll always hurt when I'll remember them." Bernard knew she was right. She most often was, despite what he told himself. Kaleigh was bright, pretty, and in no way responsible for his own mistakes. He knew that now and could have saved himself had he figured it out a few minutes earlier. It was the stupidest thing he'd ever do._

I felt myself about to cry just thinking about the memory. He had looked so purely angry, so completely disgusted with me. I'd never felt so awful, so worthless, in my entire life. The feeling was magnified than what I felt every day when we had our normal skirmishes. When he'd gone at me the first time, we'd previously been friends, and I was so shocked by his outburst, I wasn't the normal me who could come up with witty comebacks in return. I'd lost all of my thoughts, and everything became a blur.

I knew Bernard was very… picky about the Christmas schedule. He had gotten on everyone's case about something at least once every year, but never, according to Curtis at least, had he gone at someone like he'd gone at me. Honestly, I hadn't even done anything wrong. I was good at math and engineering type things, so when I saw how some things were being done, I couldn't help but try to make them more efficient by demonstrating new ways. Bernard told me that the traditional Christmas ways were working fine, and that was that. But as more elves tried my way of things, everything got done faster, and apparently Bernard did not like the thought of someone pushing him out of his head-elf position. I wasn't trying to do that, of course, I just wanted to help. But Bernard didn't need help.

A light knock on the door awoke me from my reverie.

"Come in!" I called.

"I would, but the door's locked," Bernard's voice responded. I got up slowly and walked to the door, slow to unlock it and slower to open it.

"Slow down," Bernard said sarcastically. "You could hurt yourself at the speed you're going."

"Oh shut up." Great comeback, I scolded myself. "You're late." Accusing him took the spotlight from me.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I went out to dinner with someone tonight. Sorry you went through all the trouble of making me dinner."

"Oh, it okay." I smiled. "I already threw it away, so it's all good." Bernard's face fell.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget Kaleigh, Scott's family will be arriving tomorrow. You'll be responsible for keeping Charlie and Lucy entertained."

"You know I'm not good with kids."

"So it'll be a good experience for you. Besides, I think you guys will get along great."

"Yeah sure. Whatever you say Bernard." Needless to say, I didn't believe him.

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**What did you think? Obviously, you sort of know what's coming next right? Or not… Whatever.**

**Please review!**


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